Greg Louganis

The touch points of Greg Louganis’ triumphant story are well known. The diving legend became an American hero with four gold medal wins in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, all while shielding information about his sexuality and HIV status. When Louganis departed Seoul in ’88, he didn’t know how many years he would live, never mind whether he would ever be able to come out publicly.

Six years later, Louganis publicly came out at the 1994 Gay Games, and revealed he was HIV positive in his 1995 autobiography. Over the ensuing three decades, the Olympic icon has become a powerful advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and HIV awareness, all through the power of sharing his experiences.

With that in mind, Louganis recently sat down for a lengthy Q&A with The Guardian, just a couple of weeks ahead of the Paris Olympics. He’s going to attend a portion of the Games, where he’ll watch an expected total of nearly 200 out athletes competing for gold.

It’s safe to say Louganis, who’s now 64, never thought he would experience this moment. “If you were diagnosed HIV positive then, you had maybe two years to live. That was my thought,” he said. “I knew that my career was essentially over and I didn’t know what the future held for me.”

Adopted at nine months, Louganis has been resilient since he came out of the womb. His childhood was difficult: Louganis struggled academically and socially. His saving graces were gymnastics and acrobatics, two activities commonly associated with gay men.

As a result, Louganis was taunted for his perceived sexuality throughout his childhood. He tried to escape through diving, though his father pushed him to the brink. Louganis was berated and abused when he didn’t fulfill expectations.

“Whenever I was diving I felt that, in order for me to be deserving of love, I had to win. That was the feeling with my dad, for sure. That love was conditional,” he said.

When Louganis competed in his first Olympics at 16 years old, he won a silver medal… and felt like he let everybody down. He says it took him decades before he could hold the medal with pride.

“It was the height of public shaming standing on that podium with that silver medal in front of the world,” he added.

If the U.S. participated in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Louganis believes he would’ve competed, and walked away afterwards. But the political boycott meant he had to wait.

Competing in front of his hometown LA crowd in 1984, he won gold… twice. Louganis repeated his incredible efforts four years later in South Korea, overcoming news about his HIV diagnosis, and a brutal fall. He suffered a terrible accident before the Games, splitting his head open on the diving board.

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While Louganis’ HIV status remained secret until 1995, many of his Olympic peers knew he was gay. He started telling his teammates at the 1976 Montreal Games, and the reaction was mixed. Louganis recalls signs with antigay slurs being hung up in the men’s locker room during a 1985 competition in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

At the time, Louganis was dating his manager, a man named Jim Babbitt. The relationship was abusive; and later, Louganis discovered that Babbitt was a sex worker. As his manager, Babbitt also transferred most of Louganis’ money to his own accounts, leaving the five-time medalist with just $2,000.

Louganis finally broke up with Babbitt in 1989, and filed a restraining order as well. In return, Babbitt threatened to reveal Louganis’ HIV status, and defecated in his pool.

“I was a classic victim,” he said. “I obviously drew this person to me, and then allowed a lot of this thinking: ‘Oh, I’m not enough, I’m deficient.’ So many things that we allow ourselves to believe, you know, which are lies.”

For Louganis, the years preceding his coming out were scary. He found himself terribly ill, and thought he was going to pass. His Hail Mary came when he flew down to Florida for treatment under a false name. Miraculously, doctors were able to treat his infection.

The years following Louganis’ announcement were dizzying. He went on a media blitz, posing for Annie Leibovitz and sitting down for interviews with Barbara Walters and Oprah. But his real moments of salvation came on his book tour. That’s when Louganis realized his impact.

“When we were on the book tour, people were saying: ‘You saved my life,’” he said. “I felt like I was living on an island with barely a phone for communication to the outside world, because of all the secrets. And I wasn’t the only one. There were a lot of people who were holding this in, who were not disclosing their HIV status, who were terrified and felt so alone and isolated.”

“It really empowered a lot of people.”

Amen to that. When watching the Olympics this month, it will be easy to spot Louganis’ legacy. His impact will be seen in every single out athlete.

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